Apparatus for desiccating human corpses.



F. WETTERAUER & G. A. WEGNER. APPARATUS FOR-DESIGGATING HUMAN GORISES. APPLICATION FILED APR. 27, 1914.

Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

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APPARATUS FOR DESICGA'IING HUMAN OORPSES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 27, 1914. I I 1,127,140, Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

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YHE NORRIS PETERS 60 PHOTOLITHO. WASHINGTON n C.

in swans RANT W FRANK WETTERAUER, 0F ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, AND GUSTAVE A. WEGNER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR DESICOATING HUMAN CORPSES.

Application filed April 27, 1914.

T 0 all 107mm it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK Wmrnnarmn and GUS'l;-\VE A. WEGNER, citizens of the United States, residing at, respectively, Erie, in the county of Erie and State of. Pennsylvania, and Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Apparatus for Desiccating Human Corpses, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for the preservation of human corpses, the employment of which is made use of when, as is often desirable, bodies are to be preserved for some length of time, better than can be accomplished by the usual method of embalming, as for instance, for transportation or for burial in a family vault or chapel which now and then must be opened again. It is well known that human bodies, after death, will be preserved wherever, by either climatic conditions or on account of altitude, a very dry atmosphere prevails which facilitates a rapid evaporation of the water which forms such an integral part in the physical structure and chemical composition of the human body.

To bring about such conditions by artificial means in a convenient and perfectly sanitary manner is the object of our invention, and we acccomplish this in the following manner: The body is placed in an airtight vault in a casket which is provided with a plurality of comparatively small openings which may be so arranged that they can be conveniently closed later. The opening to the vault is then closed, air-tight, either by means of a door and bolts or by the insertion of a stone or marble slab. There are, preferably, a number of these vaults arranged in tiers in a mausoleum or chapel, and they are connected by suitable pipes to either a vacuum pump or an exhaust fan of high efliciency to bring about substantially a vacuum in the vault or vaults, and as by this procedure any moisture which is given out by evaporation is as rapidly removed as it is generated the body becomes quickly desiccated. T o accelerate the process the vaults may be heated and we intend to use for this purpose the exhaust steam from the motor driving the aforesaid vacuum pump or exhaust fan by circulating such steam through heating coils placed into chambers provided therefor in the walls Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

Serial No. 834,616.

forming the partitions between the several vaults. In order to dispose of the air, gases or vapors extracted from one or more of the vaults by the vacuum pump or exhaust fan, the same are conducted through the above mentioned pipes to said pump or exhaust fan, and from the latter by means of a suitable connection to the furnace of a boiler used for the generation of steam to supply a steam engine driving said vacuum pump or exhaust fan. In places where electricity may be cheaply had for motive power, it will, nevertheless, be necessary to have a furnace into which the gases taken from the vault or vaults may be discharged, in order to change their chemical composition by exposing them to a high degree of heat, before being discharged through a chimney or stack into the open air. The furnace, in this case, may be utilized to heat a low pressure steam boiler or hot water heater, and either the steam or hot water thus produced used for circulation through the heating coils as and for the purpose above described.

The accompanying drawings illustrating, diagrammatically, a mausoleum or chapel in part and an apparatus installed therein constructed in accordance with our invention are as follows.

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the mausoleum or chapel section with the apparatus shown in side elevation; Fig. 2, a horizontal sectional view thereof with the apparatus shown in plan view: and Fig. 3, a sectional detail of the side wall of a casket showing one of the openings therein the purpose of which will be explained.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout these'veral views.

The numeral 1 designates a mausoleum or chapel, in part, in which there mav be located one or a plurality of air-tight chambers or mortuary vaults 2 arranged in tiers, as shown. These vaults may be built of concrete, tile or similar material and lined with enameled metal or marble. or a metal sheet mav be built right in with each concrete or tile wall to insure the vaults, when closed, against any access of air. The opening to each of the vaults 2, in Figs. 1 and 2 herein shown, is closed by a metal door 3 swinging in a cast frame a built into the vault opening". and by means of'suitahle packing and bolts these doors can be made air-tight. One or more locks may also be attached to each of the doors, the keys of which, if several locks are used, may be held by different persons to insure against wanton opening of any of the vaults; or the vaults may each be closed by a stone or marble slab securely cemented and sealed, such closures not being shown but which it is believed will readily be understood. From an openin in the rear wall and near the bottom of each of the vaults 2, a short laterally extending pipe 5 leads to and is connected with one or a series of vertically extending pipes 6 connected with a larger and main exhaust pipe 7 which, in turn,-is connected to a vacuum pump 8, and from such pump apipe 9 leadsto the furnace 10 of the boiler 11 where the gases drawn from one or more of the vaults 2 by means of the vacuum pump and through the connecting pipes, above mentioned, are robbed of their combustible constituents and made harmless. Each of the pipes 6 is provided with a suitable valve 12 whereby the action of the pump 8 will effect only predetermined ones of the vaults 2.

In the drawings, further, 13 represents a steam engine for driving the pump 8, and 14 the fly-wheel thereof mounted on a shaft 15 journaled in suitable bearings and having'on' its opposite ends the cranks 16 and 17 of the engine 13 and pump '8, respectively, the piston and connecting rods of the engine and pump not being shown. Steam is supplied to the engine 13 from the boiler '11 through the pipe 18, while the exhaust steam from th'e'engine is'conducjted through the main exhaust pipe 19 and branches 20 leading therefrom and caused to circulate through the coils 21 located in chamberstherefor in the walls forming the partitions between the several vaults 2 for the purpose of heating said partition walls and thereby the air within said vaults. Each branch pipe 20 has a valve 22 located therein in order that the steam maybe turned off from any of the coils 21 when it is not requiredto heat certain ones of the vaults 2.

All of the'above mentioned apparatus is located, preferably, as shown, in the basementbeneath the floor 23 of the mausoleum.

-In Fig. 8 there is shown a portion of the side wall of a casket 26 in which there is a comparatively small opening fitted with an internally threaded sleeve 24. This sleeve is securely held. in place by means of suitable screws, not seen, engaging through'an outwardly extending flange thereon and receives the threaded extension of the cap member 25, such cap member being adapted to close the opening in the casket'and secured to place-from the outside of the easket. There may be any desired number'of these openings in a casket although we have found :that two,1one. ateach end of the cas:

ket, are sufficient. The cap members 25 are of course removed when the casket is placed within a vault for the urpose of bringing about the desiccation of the body there It will readily be understood that, without departing from the spirit of our invention, an exhaust fan may be substituted for the vacuum pump 8, such fan being driven from any suitable source of power, and that the steam from the boiler 11 may be conducted directly therefrom to the heating coils 21.

From the foregoing description of the desiccating apparatus it is believed that the construction thereof and method of using the same are suliiciently clear to call for no further explanation herein.

What we claim is:

1. In a mausoleum, the combination of a vault the surrounding walls of which are made air-tight, an opening to said vault, an air-tight closure for said opening, a suction device operating to create a vacuum in said vault, means for operating the same, and pipe connections between said suction device and said vault substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a mausoleum, the combination of a vault the surrounding walls of which are made air-tight, an opening to said vault, a casket provided with a plurality of openings and removably contained within said vault, an air-tight closure for said opening, a'suction device operating to create a vacuun1 in said vault, means for operating the same, and pipe connections between said suction device and said vault substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a mausoleum, the combination of a vault the surrounding walls of which are made air-tight, an opening to said vault, an airtight closure for said opening, a suction device-operating to create a vacuum in said vault, meansfor operating the same, pipe connections between said suction device and said vault, a furnace, and a discharge pipe leading from said suction device to said furnace for delivering thereto the air and gases from said vault.

4:. In a mausoleum,the combination of a vault the surrounding walls of which are made air-tight, an opening to said vault, an air-tight closure for said opening, a suction device operating to create a vacuum in said vault, means for operating the same, pipe connections between said suction device and said vault, a boiler and a furnace for heat ing the same, a discharge pipe leading from said suction device to said furnace for delivering thereto the air and gases from said vault, heating coils located in chambers therefor in theside walls of said vault, and pipe connections between said coils and said boiler.

In a mausoleum, the'combination of a plurality of vaults arranged in tiers, the surrounding Walls of said vaults being made air-tight, an opening to each of said vaults, air-tight closures for said openings, chambers formed in the side Walls of said vaults and heating coils located therein, a suction device operating to create a vacuum in predetermined ones or all of said vaults and means for operating the same, pipe connections between said suction device and said vaults, such connections having valves located therein, a boiler and a furnace for heating the same, a discharge pipe leading from said suction device to said furnace for delivering thereto the air and gases from said vaults, pipe connections between said boiler and said heating coils, and valves located in said pipe connections as and for the purpose described.

6. In a mausoleum, the combination of a pluralitv of vaults arranged in tiers, the surrounding Walls of said vaults being made air-tight, an opening to each of said vaults, air-tight closures for said openings, chambers formed in the side Walls of said vaults 5 between said pump and said vaults, such 30 connections having valves located therein, a boiler and a furnace for heating the same, a discharge pipe leading from said pump to said furnace for delivering thereto the air and gases from said vaults, a supply pipe is from said boiler to said engine, pipe connections for conducting the exhaust steam from said engine to said heating coils, and valves located in said last named connections, all substantially as described.

FRANK WETTERAUER. lVitnesses:

Cf ARTHUR BLAss, JOHN S. RILLING.

GUSTAVE A. WEGNER. Witnesses HARRY G. GURNEY, JOHN S. Hnnnsr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

